20100721-31 AUSTRALIA Qld crewing on a yacht

WEDNESDAY 21 JULY
– It has been a very windy night so maybe being here was a good
thing.Jim contacts the man who runs the
pile moorings and we move to a proper spot.Huge wooden poles stick out of the water and you anchor front and back
between them.It works really well and
is cheap but the problem is you still need the dingy to get ashore.Late morning we go on land and walk around
Bowen.It is a lovely little town famous
for its many historical murals but we saw these on one of our previous
visits.The library has a good section
of books that are being given away so we take quite a few.It’s a fair walk to the shopping centre then
back through the botanical gardens of Mullers lagoon complete with hundreds of
birds.

NICE N EASY 49, BOWEN 2, PILE MOORINGS, $10 (£6)

THURSDAY 22 JULY –Yesterday Jenny bought a double unfilled chocolate cake not realising
it was unfilled.I show her how to put cream
for the middle and melt cooking chocolate for the top.Our Dutch friends George & Corry drive
down from Townsville (200km) to visit us and the cake is served up with
coffee.It is great to see them and hear
all about the catamaran they have been building for the last 5 years.We head off in their car along Town Beach
where the movie “Australia” was filmed.The main set had to be dismantled as it was not cyclone proof but there
are plenty of billboards showing how it was.Next we head out to Horseshoe Bay and walk around and over rocks to get
to the clothing optional Coral Bay.Settled under some shady trees we enjoy a picnic and lots of
conversation.They are retired like us,
have children and a new grandchild and next year hope to have the boat complete
ready to set sail.Bowen has numerous
beaches and mid afternoon George drives round to Queens Beach which has nice
flat sand for walking.2.7km each way gives
us a good stretch and plenty of time to chat.We pick up fish & chips and beers to sit on picnic benches watching
the sunset then round of an excellent day with coffee in the yacht club.

NICE N EASY 50, BOWEN 3

FRIDAY 23 JULY – We’ve
had a rough night with the boat being tossed around in 25km winds and a beeping
noise every 3 minutes.It turns out
Jenny left her phone in the saloon and the 3 minute beep is to warn of an
incoming text.On shore we make the
steep but worthwhile walk up Flagstaff Hill to be rewarded with 360 degree
views.We can see many of Bowen’s
beaches, the yachts in the bay, the marina and duck pond, the town and beyond
the mango plantations then hills.With
energy to spare we return via the town for a stop in the library to do research
on our next destination.Not sure where
it will be but northern Vietnam and Laos are off as it is monsoon season there
in January.

NICE N EASY 51, BOWEN 4

SATURDAY 24 JULY –Jim is still debating whether to leave when he finds out that he can’t
buy diesel to day so we have to stay.Again we go ashore and wander round town photographing a few of the
murals.

NICE N EASY 52, BOWEN 5

SUNDAY 25 JULY – It
is still a bit windy but the best weather for days so Jim heads us back towards
Gloucester Island.The crossing is quite
rough going directly into the wind and waves with the boat “hobby horsing”
along.Anchored in Bona Bay we go ashore
in the afternoon and enjoy a walk along the beach then across the headland to
rendezvous with Jim & Jenny on their oyster gathering mission.

NICE N EASY 53, GLOUCESTER ISLAND BONA BAY

MONDAY 26 JULY – It’s
too rough to go out to the reef so Jim sets course to return to the shelter of
Double Bay.More than ever we can see
that unless you have infinite time then the winds and weather dictate your
sailing plan.Jim has two deadlines,
returning Jenny to a place where she can catch a flight back to Brisbane and
being back home by mid September.There’s
a change of plans when late morning Jim stops and anchors off Ogden
Island.Unfortunately it rains in the
afternoon so we cannot go ashore to explore.By night the tide and wind make things very rough but with the moon
hidden behind clouds it would be difficult for Jim to move to a safe haven so
he has a sleepless night keeping an eye on things.

NICE N EASY 54, OLDEN ISLAND

TUESDAY 27 JULY – Keen
to get some sleep Jim ups anchor early and heads to the sheltered bay just
north of Double Bay opposite Grassy Island.It is as calm as anything with no wind or tides.Unfortunately there is nowhere to go ashore
for a walk, no fish to be had off the boat and mixed weather.Steve & Jim even try to fish from the
tinny and bring back a couple of small fry whilst I teach Jenny a bit more of
the game Rummy Kub.So frustrating not
being able to have a decent conversation with her as there is so much we would
like to learn about her life in China but don’t have the patience – after one
question and half an hour for the answer we give up.On the mainland there is a big track being
dug through the forest leading to a block of private land, looks like someone
is rich enough to enjoy this piece of paradise but we cannot imagine the costs
involved.Jim loves his apple pies but
has run out of frozen pastry. I have a recipe for short crust pastry and offer
to make it be he wants to do it himself.We then have to cringe, watch and listen, as he gets angry and
frustrated when things don’t work out.Luckily it comes together in the end and in fact tastes better than the
bought stuff.

NICE N EASY 55, JUST NORTH OF DOUBLE BAY OPPOSITE GRASSY
ISLAND

WEDNESDAY 28 JULY
– I thought I was going crazy in the night hearing tinkling of
bells.When we get up we see a herd of
cows walking up the new road and Jim explains the main one will always wear a
cow bell, mystery solved.Sailing off we
are heading to Airlie Beach as Jim has run out of some medication – maybe that
explains things!At Airlie Beach we are
anchored behind Twisted so going ashore pick up Margaret to join us for a
walk.We head off on the boardwalk
following the waterfront and saving us a walk over the hill.It is a great walk taking us past the marina,
luxury apartments, beaches, mangroves with boats amongst them and finally to
the Cannonvale shopping centre. Our
shopping is moderated by the face we have to carry it over 2km back.Of course during the walk we chat away to
Margaret and hear about other boating people we all know.Back at the beach we go back to Chris and
Margaret’s for coffee.They have a very
nice catamaran, much as we imagine George and Corry’s will be like.In the evening Jenny & Jim go ashore for
a pizza but the 5 dish Chinese style meal I cooked at lunchtime has left us too
full.

NICE N EASY 56, AIRLIE BEACH

THURSDAY 29 JULY –It is a pleasant morning so Jim decides to motor round to Funnel Bay
where there are fewer boats and we can get our gear off.It is very pleasant sunbathing the afternoon
away and Steve & Jim do reasonably well with the fishing.Jenny gets a bit upset in the evening when
she finds Jim has posted her photo on Facebook, seems the Facebook is a
difficult issue as you can argue that if you are on there then you don’t mind
pictures being posted but equally should you ask people first?

NICE N EASY 57, FUNNEL BAY

FRIDAY 30 JULY – We’ve
enjoyed many aspects of the cruising but overall we are not going ashore enough
for our liking and I am missing a female companion to chat to.Knowing Jim likes his crew to be enjoying it
we have a chat about it saying we would like to leave but want to give him
chance to find some backpackers to take our place.He says he is happy to sail with just Jenny
for the next 3 weeks then the last stretch alone.Decide that we will stay aboard until Sunday
as we had all planned to go to a party together tomorrow.Sail around to Cannonvale so we can take the
dingy ashore and walk to the shops.Steve and I now need to make an ongoing plan and begin walking around
the backpackers to see if there are any vehicles for sale.There are quite a few but the problem is no
one seems to want to answer their phone when we call.We sit by the lagoon and chat to a kiwi
couple at lunchtime then go back on board off Airlie Beach where Jim has
relocated.

NICE N EASY 58, AIRLIE BEACH

SATURSDAY 31 JULY
– We catch the early bus out to Mount Julian ($5.30) where Dave meets
us to drive us all out to Taylorwood.There
is a party today to celebrate Christmas in July.We notice a few changes to the place particularly
Linda and Rogin’s new home.We get to
meet some old friend and make new ones.The theme is USA and I dress in a red crown made from a red wine box, a
draped blue sarong with white streamers then a newspaper torch.I call myself the “statue of nudity”.We use body paint to make Steve into a NY
Giants football player with the giants emphasised by a toilet roll tube shoved
down his pants.It’s all good fun and
Jenny really enjoys the experience as this is her first Christmas in July and
visit to a naturist resort.By the time
we leave at 6.30pm she is worn out from all the dancing.A good time was had by all and a great way to
finish our time with our crewmates.